SC upholds Bombay HC's order for CBI probe into Jai Corp's Rs 2,434 crore fraud case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday upheld the Bombay High Court's (HC) order directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of a ₹2,434 crore fraud by Jai Corp, its director Anand Jain, and others. The case pertains to alleged financial irregularities in real estate projects, which reportedly defrauded public investors.

A bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala refused to interfere with the HC order but clarified that Jai Corp and others could seek quashing of the FIR before an appropriate court. The court assured that any decision on the FIR would be made uninfluenced by the HC’s observations.

Senior advocates Harish Salve and Mahesh Agarwal, appearing for Jai Corp, argued that the allegations, made by activist Shoaib Richie Sequeira, had already been reviewed by statutory regulators such as SEBI, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and a coordinate bench of the Bombay HC. None of these bodies found any merit in the accusations.

The FIR, filed by the Economic Offences Branch of CBI, Mumbai, followed the Bombay HC’s January directive. The petitioners contended that they were not given a chance to rebut the complaints before the HC ordered an investigation. They further argued that the HC erred in ordering a CBI probe into a publicly listed company that had no investor, shareholder, or lender complaints against it.

The appeals also emphasized that the allegations raised by Sequeira had already been thoroughly investigated by SEBI and SAT, making the CBI investigation unnecessary and unjustified.